The Killing Post Mortem: The Story Behind the Shocking Finale and Scoop on Season 2!

Warning: If you have yet to watch Sunday’s season finale of The Killing, run — don’t walk — to the nearest emergency exit. Everyone else, onward and downward….

After watching the season finale of AMC’s The Killing, I am almost speechless. I mean, I have loved the show since the first of its bazillion raindrops fell. Its pace. Its broken heart. Its dirty mind. All of it. And right up to and including the end, it didn’t disappoint, delivering one tantalizing twist after another, the biggest of course being that the most engrossing whodunit since Twin Peaks’ Laura Palmer remains unsolved. Grrr. And don’t even get me started on the potential new suspect that emerged in the episode’s final minutes. Thankfully, AMC has renewed the show for a second season, which means answers are coming. But when? Will Rosie Larsen’s killer be caught in Seasons 2, or will the investigation span the show’s entire run? And who was in the car with you-know-who? Series creator Veena Sud is here with answers to those questions and much, much more.

TVLINE | That was a very bold move not to solve the murder mystery in the season finale considering the show was only recently renewed for a second season. Why did you decide to deviate from the Danish version of the show in this regard?
The Danish series’ investigation was 20 episodes. So they had a big giant season with tons of really interesting twists and turns that, because we only had 13 episodes in our first season, we weren’t able to use. And I really wanted to be able to use some of that material.

TVLINE | But what would’ve happened if the show didn’t get picked up? Did you have an alternate ending in place to ensure fans got closure?
We did not have an alternate ending. From the very beginning, we knew — AMC, Fuse, everyone involved in the show — that we didn’t want to do a formula show. So there were a lot of discussions about, “We’re definitely not going to do the 45-minute procedural.” Then we stepped back and said, “Should we do a murder a season? But is that not creating yet another formula, and yet another expectation, and yet another way to put a bow on a gift and wrap it up really easily?” So then we very organically [concluded that] the [Rosie murder] story still had other possibilities after 13 hours, after 13 days, so that’s where we went. It was risky, it was brave, it was bold – that’s what AMC is known for.

TVLINE | Did AMC privately tell you that a second season was a sure thing just to give you the piece of mind?
No. I didn’t have any assurances about a Season 2. But I did have an incredible vote of confidence from the network that they loved this storytelling and they were behind it.

TVLINE | Were you concerned that the possibility existed that Sunday’s season finale could’ve been a series finale?
I can’t answer that. I am truly the worker-bee who came up with the best possible story I could come up with. So I don’t know what the machinations of [a renewal] are. All I know is there was an incredible vote of confidence all along, and lots of discussions all along about how to end the season, and this was a decision.

TVLINE | OK, let’s talk about the big climactic twist regarding Holder. Viewers were really growing attached to him towards the end of the season and then you drop this bomb. Were you intentionally pulling a bait-and-switch?
Yes. There’s more to come in Season 2 with Holder and the story. And remember, the [season covered only] 13 days. How well do you ever know anybody in 13 days? People have secrets. Everyone’s got something else going on. And over time you will hopefully — or maybe not — find that out.

TVLINE | Can you say whether the person he was talking to in the car is someone we have met before?
I can’t say.

TVLINE | Fair enough. Can you say whether Rosie’s murder will be solved in Season 2?
We will solve the investigation of who murdered Rosie Larsen in season 2, and there will also be a second case that will emerge next season. But I can’t tell you when exactly either will happen.

TVLINE | Just to clarify, when you say the investigation will be solved — does that mean the real killer will be caught?
[Laughs] I’m sorry. Yes, the killer will be revealed. All will be revealed about who murdered Rosie Larsen. [Laughs] I wasn’t trying to parse words.

TVLINE | Can you confirm which castmembers will be back next season? Mireille Enos (Sarah) and Joel Kinnaman (Holder) will obviously return, but who else?
Unfortunately, I can’t say anything else creatively about season 2, including casting decisions.

TVLINE | The show has enjoyed a lot of acclaim, but there has also been some criticism. One common complaint is that the pacing is too slow.
Remember, every episode is one day. So if every episode is one day, it moved at perfectly the right pace it should’ve moved at — with the investigation, with a family’s grief, with the political campaign.

TVLINE | Some people also felt the show was too gloomy.
It’s the Pacific Northwest in November. It’s gloomy. It’s rainy. It’s a state of mind. Do you mean physically gloomy?

TVLINE | Physically, emotionally… There wasn’t a light of levity.
Well, there’s Glee. There are other shows that aren’t the same tonality of The Killing. There are many other cop shows that you can watch in hi-def color and have music and women in bikinis. This is not that show. It’s going to portray the murder of a child in the way it should be portrayed.

TVLINE | Will we learn more about who Rosie was in Season 2?
That’s an interesting question. I’ve been asked it a bit. This is my take: I’ve met cops who’ve had the one [big] case of their career, like Sarah has with Rosie Larsen. And these cops have neglected their children and left their marriages and destroyed their families for a dead person they’ve never known. And, like Sarah, they get to know tiny pieces of that person. And that’s endlessly fascinating to me. It really is about the cop. It’s about Sarah and something in her that is empty and needing something and that’s why she fixates on these dead people. And so not getting to know Rosie Larsen and not seeing her in flashbacks and just seeing tiny pieces of this girl who Sarah will never know is part and parcel of who she is and why she’s doing this. And it reveals a lot about her character. Like Sarah, [viewers] got to know pieces of who Rosie was. Terry said it really well to Mitch, “Did anyone really ever know her?” And that’s the mystery of Rosie. Who was this girl? Not only who killed her but who was she? And as time goes on in the investigation and Sarah gets to know her more and what she was doing the night of her murder there will be more revealed about who she truly was.

TVLINE | Talk to me about the decision to air the self-contained “Missing” episode — which focused almost entirely on the relationship between Sarah and Holder — at the end of the season as opposed to the beginning?
It [goes back to the mandate of] taking detours and doing the unexpected. Right when this giant piece of evidence comes hurling at us, to take a detour was kind of a crazy brave move. But I think definitely in our wheelhouse. The two-man play [concept] was inspired by other AMC shows — Don and Peggy in [the Mad Men episode “The Suitcase”], Jesse and Walter dying in the desert because they ran out of water [in Breaking Bad’s “4 Days Out”]. I was so fascinated by those episodes and what they allowed the audience to get to know about the people they were spending time with. And I really wanted that for Sarah and for Holder — and at the most inconvenient time, which is how s— happens in life. This thing happens and you’re stuck with the last person on Earth you thought would be your aid and your friend to deal with potentially a huge tragedy.

TVLINE | Aside from you, who else knows the identity of the killer?
The writers.

TVLINE | Any concern about it leaking? Will there be a penalty of death if someone gets drunk at a party and says something they shouldn’t?
[Laughs] There certainly is no penalty of death. The writers and myself are really proud of this mystery and we worked really hard to wrap it up in a way that is deeply satisfying so we want to protect it. We want to unleash it on the world when it’s time and not before that.

The finale was amazing! I got kind of bored towards the end, because I thought that with only a few minutes left, that the episode was done and they had caught the killer. I’m glad I was wrong! Talk about a twist!

Her big problem now, and I’m sure it wasn’t there when she wrote it and by the time they were filming it was too late, is the wonderful Joel Kinnaman. Even when the show was at its worst, he added an energy, an odd sweetness and an originality of character to Holder and to the show. We all sorta fell in love with him. And we began to appreciate Linden’s finally bonding with him. He was why we were turning in. He seemed like a bad guy, but he wasn’t! That was what was so charming. And now, whether its connected to the murder or not (I think not)his complicity in ruining Richmond, a man who seems much more compassionate than the evil present mayor no matter his indiscretions, is going to end up making us disliking the one thing the show had going for it.

I never trusted Holder for one moment, so he was not the only thing this show had going for it at all. The appeal of the show is its uniqueness in a sea of formulaic cop/detective and reality garbage. Holder has “charm” and brings a wonderful balance to Linden’s character. But as I’d never fully assumed him to be a “good guy” I am quite sure that I’ll like his character just fine whether he turns out to be good or bad.

I’m afraid the producers just drowned the show in the proverbial trunk. It’s as if they had no cognitive experience of American viewing habits.

Both “Heroes” and “Flashforward” were amazingly gripping in their first months, featuring excellent storytelling. Then, due to the writers’ strike and bad network decision making, both went into extended breaks. They were never the same.

Their once-rabid devoted audiences simply weren’t there when the shows resumed, and the hiatus they endured wasn’t nearly as long as the one “The Killing” is entering (Spring 2012).

The excitement and passion the audience has lived now has a year to cool off. It will. People move on, especially the people irked that you couldn’t complete a mystery in thirteen hours.

It will lose audience share, something almost impossible to replace as people who didn’t watch this season will be reluctant to join in mid-stream, believing it is akin to buying a discount ticket to a play where you take your seat after intermission.

“Lost” could get away with the breaks, and a continuous story-line because of the plethora of compelling characters, not to mention eye-candy such as Kate and Sawyer whom many would watch running a lemonade stand in the jungle.

“The Killing” has no such advantage. Enos is captivating, as she was on “Big Love”. Holder is an intriguing trainwreck, but that’s about it.

Rosie’s mom make Medea look like Martha Stewart, ready to sacrifice her two boys on the alter of her own grief. She does this even knowing her husband is about to go away for attempted murder. And her sister is apparently the twist that got Rosie mixed up with Beau Soleil in the first place.

Not enough must-see characters to put up with for a nine-month leave of absence. “The Killing” will not survive to a third season, and the producers will only have themselves to blame.

The killing was a wonderful change and refreshing take on a tv series. I think the slow pace is a nice difference in comparison to most shows, we really get to know the charactors and get emotionally attached. Shows such as “Lost” were so much about the cliff hanger it was ridiculous…you would watch get intrigued then come the following week get absolutely no answers but you would definitely get a lot more freaking questions… And not to completely hate on “Mad Men” but isn’t the bread winner of AMC “Breaking Bad”? Well it is in my book at least… My friends, family and myself have all enjoyed “The Killing” and are all looking forward to the next season which I’m sure will supply plenty of conclusions and hopefully some new intriguing doors.

Another thought toward the series was that once the murder is solved don’t continue the show in Seattle. You may wonder, “oh what do you mean sir?” I just really enjoyed learning about the characters from the beginning, moving the show to another city, but keeping the basis of a murder mystery show would make a lot sense to me. Really? I mean would seem realistic at all to keep pumping in new murders for the main Sara to solve? I just think that is played out a bit. Moving to a new city then having new characters along with some insane murder mystery would make sense.

I just hope more people will continue to enjoy the show as much as myself and my friends and family did this first season, and we cant wait for season two.

Will never watch the killing again. I was not thrilled with any show that you really had to see every episode of and in order, but I did it anyways. It was compelling, but with absolutely no payoff at all in the finale.
The writers/producers may think they are very clever, but I was incensed when I saw that the producer would not have ever had an ending if they had never been renewed. The killer was never going to be revealed at the end of these 13 episodes.
I do not know of anyone I knew who had been watching it who plans to continue watching it when it returns regardless of the good acting.
The story matters and your audience deserves not to be left hanging on all fronts after their incredibly loyalty.
I hope the producers enhjoyed the 1st season ratings because they will be lucky to get any in the future.
I have never written something like this, but I could not believe
how horrendous the episode was.

Right so the only reason the audience watched it was because of their ‘incredible loyalty’. I’m considering watching the original because of the long wait, but I’ll watch the U.S version next season too.

I was among the distressed viewers who felt betrayed by the season finale of The Killing. Having read this post-mortem interview with the producer, I appreciate Sud’s attempt to base the series on the existing 20 episodes. But what Sud doesn’t get is that breaking the flow after 13 episodes until season 2 is like airing 90 minutes of a 120-minute mystery, and continuing the last 30 minutes next year sometime. It’s an assault on the viewer, and a disconnect. This finale shows a lack of understanding about mystery storytelling. She should have chiseled the story into the allotted 13 episodes. In fact, 10 episodes would have been better appreciated, 13 was exhausting! Maybe it worked in Scandinavia. And maybe there are exceptions to every rule of structure. But the finale of the THE KILLING did not create a cliffhanger for American viewers, it just wore us down.

I also loved the finale. I think I will rewatch each episode and make a list of clues or questions that have been unanswered. My husband and I can’t wait until the next season and hung on to every episode. Love the stories, the interactions between the characters and the acting!

I can imagine that minds trained to watch procedurals- in which murders are always neatly wrapped up in 43 minutes- would become easily frustrated at The Killing, and its slow pacing. 13 episodes to solve a murder? MORE than 13 episodes to solve a murder?! People forget that good things come to those who wait with AMC shows. The nearly universally acclaimed Mad Men even occasionally faces complaints about slow pacing. Although it would have been nice to see Rosie Larsen case wrapped up by the end of the season…at the same time, I think it gives viewers a reason to come back for season 2, and it certainly is a bold move.

It’s not a “bold” move. It’s a chickens**t move. If the show does nothing but set up fake red herrings over and over while never progressing the story, what’s the point of watching? The question is no longer “Who Killed Rosie?”, it’s “Who cares?”.

Nothing chickens**t about it. It’s exactly like Sud said. Why fall into the trap of the common procedural. Why should every television show do the same damn thing. Feeling like you know what’s going to happen, and having the rug pulled out from under you is a frustrating and exciting thing. Having one of your favorite characters turn out to be bad (or at least not what you thought) can make a show exciting…so different from just about every crime show on CBS. Plus, this is cable. Seasons are written and shot well in advance of their airing. So it’s not like the writers wrote themselves into a corner at the last minute. This was all done with a purpose. We don’t get television like this every day, and viewers should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Why are all the people who liked it so intent on thinking those who didn’t ONLY didn’t like it because the murder wasn’t resolved?? Who gives a **** about that? The problem with the finale wasn’t SIMPLY the fact that Rosie’s killer wasn’t revealed, it was the fact that almost every storyline plummeted to it’s death. It went from a cool, gripping mystery straight to a soap opera.

The impossibly deceptive good ol’ boy politian who’s really a serial John with a God complex? I can almost see him twirling his moustashe. Belko’s inexplicable decision to gun down a mayoral candidate in front of the media outside of a police station, even when a week earlier he helped Stan nearly kill a man who it turned out wasn’t even guilty? And the worst of all, the “twist” involving Holder doctoring evidence that a fourth grader could get thrown out of court all in the name of some super-nafarious conspiracy…

This producer’s only defense is that people didn’t like it because “it didn’t wrap everything up in a neat little bow” as if simply not wrapping it up makes you a genius. We get it, the world isn’t a 43 minute procedural. So throwing in a completely irrelevant episode purposely at “the most inconvenient time possible” makes you awesome? WHAT?

I’m just saying. I could care less if the murder was solved this season or not, as long as the story remains good. But just about everything that happened in the finale was awful writing.

Though, I may understand some of your frustration, you are looking at some things through the wrong perspective. The doctored photo will probably never make it to court, it will likely be discredited long before that point BUT will it be discredited before the election?

As for Belko, the signs were all there. He viewed the Larsens as his real family. He obsessed about them with all the photos above his bed and sneaking into the apartment when they were away. He repeatedly told Stan he was there to help dole out some real justice. It’s a natural progression that he would lash out at the councilman for destroying the family he grew to associate himself with after the first attempt failed due to the wrong perp (i.e. Bennett).

Instead of watching The Killing to watch cops get closer to finishing an investigation, you watch it to see how the cops are going to realize they got the wrong guy again…

I mean sure, it’s a different formula from a typical procedural, but it’s an inferior one.

The comparison down thread to Game of Thrones is apt. Game of Thrones is just as unconventional and cynicism promoting as The Killing. But whereas The Killing invites cynicism due to it’s plot devices (i.e. it’s pretty obvious they haven’t solved the murder by episode 4, they just want a cliffhanger for you to watch the next episode), Game of Thrones invites cynicism in a more realistic “best laid plans of mice and men” way.

There are ways to keep audiences off guard that don’t involve the same sort of tricks you see on saturday morning cartoons before commercial breaks.

I agree completely. This is an example of television writers indulging themselves at the expense of the viewer. The creator doesn’t want a formula show? That’s just naive or really arrogant. Formula works. Ask McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Target, Law and Order. Hell Oprah had to retire to cut lose her viewers. Those formulas seem to work. I didn’t expect Murder One (which was a fantastic show with great actors) or Dexter–one of the most popular shows on television albeit with a unique twist–but one that still delivers a conclusion every year. Season four of Dexter is an example of what this show tried to do but didn’t have the muscle to do–end with a “gotcha” twist. Dexter Season Four delivered the killer to us, shrink wrapped in Dexter fashion and dumped at the bottom of the sea. And a new Dexter, ready to embrace the wonderful life he never expected to have only to have all his possibilities taken away in what has to be one of the most unexpected call-back’s in television history: his infant son sitting in a pool of his mother’s blood, a mirror to Dexter’s own blood-stained, childhood trauma. The Killing just doesn’t have what it takes–an all this jerking the viewer around won’t improve on a show that “plainly speaking”, just isn’t that good.

Has a comment ever been more right? I don’t think so. Everything you said about the arrogance of Veena Sud, formulas that work and your observations about the brilliance of Dexter’s cliffhangers — co-sign a million times. Ms. Sud sounds awfully defensive about the bait and switch she did to her viewers.

I’m with you, Ryan. The slow pacing of the show made me antsy half way through, the other half was annoying, and the final red herring made me swear not to watch it next season, though my partner will so I guess I’ll have to suffer through it from my computer. I feel manipulated into watching, and cheated. Chocolate and vanilla, different strokes for different folks, and some minds process faster than others. I knew from show one that there was a political connection to the murder – though not who. Anyway, there’s my say and I feel much better.

I agree completely. We seriously did not need another multi-year arc of Who Killed Laura Palmer. If you can’t tell a murder mystery in 13 hours, then you should be doing something else.

The fact that the producers, who just received a renewal last week, were willing to let their audience devote 13-weeks to their story, and then take the risk of leaving the mystery unanswered for all eternity, shows just what kind of contempt they have for their audience.

If these guys were handling the Sherlock Holmes franchise, there would be 20 volumes covering one story, with no resolution.

What is this disease amongst dramas on television where they always need to be kicking the can down the road in an endless never-ending mystery? They owed the audience a conclusion THIS season. If they got a renewal they could start a new mystery next season. They ARE detectives for heaven’s sake.

If American television drama producers ran the nation’s libraries, every book you checked out would be missing the final chapter, with an advisement that it will be ready to read come Spring 2012, provided the publisher doesn’t go out of business in the meantime.

I agree. The original ads were promoting a drama that would last only 13 episodes. My assumption was they had no contract to renew for another season when the series first started so I watched every week believing that episode 13 would solve the mystery. Even though the last 4 episodes went like a “pinball around the machine” so to speak, I watched anyway, only to find they didn’t solve it. The writers ignored too many character situations which had loose ends and the writing seemed to fall apart going on a downward spiral completely after Holder’s son went missing. I am extremely disappointed and now that it has been renewed did they lie to the viewers when the series started knowing all along they were going to do more than 13 episodes without solving anything?

So basically, what we have here is a PR person or someone else tied to the show who is commenting under a whole slew of different names.
Not fooling anybody, and it is as obvious as Ms. Sud’s attempt to be clever. Neither will ever see fruition.

Good to see I’m not the only one assuming that there are a little too many Kool-Aid drinkers with the same tone.

But expect, in retaliation, that people will say that it you don’t enjoy a slowly-paced and riveting show, you’d be be much better watching CSI or L&O. Or that you’re an intellectual who can’t enjoy simple things. Or both.

Anyway, you have an alibi if you’re accused of being a failed writer. They’re too busy writing for The Killing.

There probably are a lot of people with the show and against it posting under different names to either praise or criticize the show.
But it’s probably not the guy you just accused. Unless they created fake twitter accounts and online personalities a long time back in anticipation of this. They should make a show about this conspiracy.

The last episode WAS pretty great. As was the “missing” episode. But the problem with keeping a show like this afloat is the use of the traditional “red herring” (the show is actually pretty “formula” no matter what the show runner says) that elongates the investigation and is the type of thing in an hour procedural we can accept, but allowing many hours to be spent on one of these detours just to give the show 13 hours is sorta a big turn-off.

You should know by now that if you disagree with the majority, you’re obviously a patsy sent to spoil the fun they’re having complaining about things. No voices of dissent are allowed once the majority has spoken, lest they wish to be engulfed in the textual vitriol of a couple dozen pseudo-intellectual critics.

I loved the show, and am rather glad that they’ve left the mystery to be solved next season. If all these people are this butthurt by the show not being a one-and-done, then they’re incredibly pathetic.

Watched both versions. Maybe Linden and Lund(Danish version) should get together in series 2 to solve the mystery! Saw the US version first and then the original. Both excellent. Maybe Lund has the edge because she’s just so much more off the wall. And if you see the Danish version, Meyer, Lunds sidekick makes Holder look like a pussycat! As to the resolution, take heed of Lars Von Triers comment ‘who cares if the butler did it, its the process that is the most interesting – in both versions.

I have got to say, I was inexplicably surprised tonight unlike I have been at a TV show in a long, long time. I was even yelling “No” when he pulled out that gun. And then that quick fade to white!!! Oh, man. I can’t wait for season 2 already!

I was going to say the same thing! Read the song of ice and fire books or watch Game of Thrones – the most “Noooo!” and “Oh my God!” moments I’ve ever experienced. Still, this finale had some crazy shockers.

How about this? If you were knocked out by Veena’s bag o’ tricks here, I have some card tricks that will just flat out astound you. And you only have to pay a little for ’em. $100K a trick. Is the price too high?

This show is dangerously close to me not watching next season. What a cop out…I watched 13 hours of slow, mediocre television only to have to wait a year to get an answer. Just not good enough. Also, Veena Sud can stop patting herself on the back for her great story…it was not special, it was just okay.

Personally, I would consider Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Justified, Fringe, Parks and Recreation and Community to be great TV.
All these shows have better defined characters, have a better pace and a tighter writing.

I cannot believe someone would call this show “slow, mediocre”. It was brilliant and beautifully filmed in dank, rainy Seattle similar to the original in (I think) Denmark. Not everything needs to be flash, bang, fast and car wrecks. Life is sometimes contemplative and thoughtful. Not just a bunch of cliches. This touched on so many issues, rich versus poor kids, anti-Muslim racism, dirty politics, womanizing politicians and problems of single parents. Really a terrific show and I loved every minute. Just wished it would stop raining. I’ll never visit Seattle.

The finale sucked. HARD. I cannot understand how anyone could enjoy the steaming pile of crap that was served up to viewers last night. It was the ultimate cop out. Who killed Rosie Larson? I was supposed to know the answer to that question. And now I have no interest in finding out. So long Rosie, whoever the hell you were, the writers never bother to try to get us to know you in the first place. Adios Linden, aka. the worst detective in history. Sayonara Mitch, you family abandoing crazy woman who almost killed your two remaining children. Au revoir Holder, you were the best thing about this mess of a show. And if it wasn’t for Breaking Bad and Mad Men I’d be saying arrivederci to AMC for good.

Sorry, but i agree with the previous poster…nothing wrong with”no nice neat packages”, writers did not have way with anyone…this is just poor, poor sloppy and lazy writing…when i wa yelling “no” at the screen, it was because of the stupidity of the characters actions..

Whine? The writers knew from the beginning there were only thirteen episodes per season and it is their job to be creative in telling the story in this time frame (even if the original series had twenty episodes). Hate to be too harsh but they cannot simply use the ‘ran out of time’ excuse for season 1 expecting the that viewer will grant an extension into season 2. This has less to do with ‘nice neat packages’ than it does poor management of the airtime the writers and producers had.

Mox – Perfectly said. How could someone create a murder mystery for tv, told they have 13 weeks to put it together – which means a beginning, a middle and an end – and not have an ending to the murder mystery they know the viewers had every right to expect to see? What angers me the most is how she claims we would have just been left hanging if the show had not been renewed because there was no plan b if the show was canceled. Ridiculous!

No nice neat packages? No nothing. Like, nothing happened. She can be as proud of herself as she wants for not having a formula. Unfortunately she hardly has a story, has a team of bad writers that leave so many holes in the characters stories it’s absurd, and starting next year, no audience.

I have a big bouncy ball you can play with too.Get the ball…get the ball…here boy…here boy…. This was a cheap gimmick done in the hopes of drawing people in next season. Nothing intellectual about it. It’s lazy craftsmanship.

While this is a good show, they need to give the lead actress more depth. Not sure if it is her acting or the directing. She just seems very one dimensional and just scowls throughout each episode. Not sure which will happen first, a sunny day for the investigation or the lead actress cracking a real smile.

Yeah, regardless of what people’s opinions may be, an Emmy nod for Mirielle Enos is pretty much a lock. What many (myself included) see as a subtle and understated performance others will look at as dull and boring. But the critics love her.

If you lived in the Pacific Northwest, you’d have an appreciation for the weather that adds to this drama. I think Linden is the furthest thing from one-dimensional. I think she is fascinating and in depth, but a mystery herself. Her personality meshes very well with the moody climate of the Northwest and the whole aura of this show. Appreciation for the Northwest can only be felt if one has lived here themselves.

Well, I DO live in the Pacific Northwest and I can say the weather displayed on this show is NOT an accurate representation. It’s closer to the rainstorms we used to get in Michigan than the rain we get here.

I thought it was a good episode, figured there would be some sort of twist, but did not figure it to be a lack of closure. However, after reading this article, I’m a little bit more pissed off about it since there was no alternate ending in case the show didn’t get renewed, which means the fans would never have an ending.

I’m pissed fot that reason. So if it wasnt renewed we would have never known? Dont promote the show as “who killed rosie larsen?” then not tell people who did it. If it wasnt renewed we would have been so beyond screwed over.

Just remember that it wasn’t Veena Sud’s decision to advertise the show that way. It was AMC’s decision, and in my opinion, a poor way to advertise the show. AMC knew going into it that The Killing was going to be a show with a nice slow pace and more likely than not things aren’t going to be wrapped in a little bow. If you are going to be angry at anyone, just make sure that your anger is directed in the right place. I’ve read many different comments on different boards about how people who won’t be returning for season 2 because they were expecting the murder to be solved. If the show weren’t advertised in the way that it was, I can’t help but wonder how these same people would be feeling.

I am dazed and confused by the ending–Not at all happy-after vesting so much time, I expected a conclusion. Selfish of you to attempt to lead me to season two-More of the same with no resolution. Nah, I don’t believe you anymore-No I will not be “Got” again.
Only a fool makes the same mistake twice! No season 2 and real regrets for season 1. You
promised and did not deliver, end of story-literally!

I rather have to agree. And while Ms. Sud might feel that her finale was edgy or original, that doesn’t win you points when you forsake your audience.
Truthfully, I found the ending to be a cheap ploy to get viewers tuning in for next season. It wrapped up virtually nothing. All it did was leave us with a big bag of cliffhangers and unanswered questions.
I also didn’t like the Holder twist, because it felt more like it was trying to shock me as a viewer than that it naturally arose out of his character of the story. Saying “can we really know anyone in thirteen days?” is a cop-out. It’s a writer’s job for the audience to get to know a character in that much time, or less! It’s an unfair bait-and-switch to take a character and essentially convince you to like them for all this time, then suddenly pull the rug out from under you. It smacks of bad storytelling.

Yes thank you. The show, the writers, etc don’t ‘owe’ us anything. I loved the season finale. If you’re so concerned with every season being wrapped up in a nice little box with a bow then go watch something else. The writers have creative freedom to do what they want with the show, regardless of a few people’s opinions. We watch TV, we get invested in TV to see what these amazing writers come up with every week and see where they take the story. If you think you can do better, go for it. I think plenty of people will be tuning into season 2 for the conclusion, I certainty will be. If season 2 viewership dips in any way it will be because of the long hiatus, not the writing.

Very disappointed. I thought the show was too long as it was and now they expect viewers to get sucked in to another season? Some obviously love the show and don’t mind the way the season ended, but I for one don’t plan to watch anymore. Except for Holder, whom I actually wouldn’t mind seeing on his own show as an ‘out there’ lone wolf detective, the characters never grabbed me, and my goodness, enough with the rain already! I know it’s Seattle, but with all the rain we had to endure I was waiting for Noah to show up as a suspect. Maybe he will in season 2, but I won’t be there to find out.

Regarding the rain…hands down this is the most inauthentic part of the series. It rains hard like they show on this program…in many parts of the country, including the Midwest, the Northeast, and the Southeast…but it does NOT rain like that in the Pacific Northwest. It is overcast, yes…misty, with nearly daily moisture in the winter months, yes…but it does NOT rain down hard, like a cow pissing on a flat stone, EVER in the Northwest…just does not happen. Take it from someone who lived there for 20 years — they tried WAY too hard here to meet some preconceived notion of Pacific Northwest weather and came up with a complete fail.

GREAT finale for a good show, and even if it had been the series finale I would have been OK with that…that’s exactly the sort of ambiguity “The Sopranos” was going for with its finale, but it really worked here.

At first I was so mad and frustrated I had no answers but now I’m had some time to reflect I think it will just make Season 2 more amazing and we’ll get some answers and another new case plus tons more drama. Wonder if AMC would be willing to make 20 episodes for season 2???

I loved every episode and was so excited for the season finale which did leave me both furious and excited. It really is a fantastic story line. I never thought it was Richards but I was shocked about Holder who I had really started to relate to. Sarah’s charcter as well. Bold move with the finale but after I got over my initial anger, I already knew I’d be watching season 2. However, now I wish I had waited til a couple seasons came out on DVD so there wasn’t such a long wait for answers.

It is appeearing to be a conspiracy, of course and the girlfriend/assistant lied to Sarah about the alibi, when she gave her the dvd, so she is in on it. Now the connection to Holder and her and who was in the car…Anyone know when season 2 starts? I always loved the “24” concept of 1 day covered in 1 episode.

I’m with you on thinking the girlfriend is in on the murder. However, the dvd she had was from when that girl on the campaign found it and Gwen was holding on to it for safe measure. I think the man in the car is Gwen’s father. He is a powerful man and would have the connections to doctor a toll booth photo and Gwen would have every reason to sell out her cheating boyfriend to save her father(plus the actor who plays him is almost always a villain).

TV shows. Utter waste of time. Stop living in your tv fantasy world, pull your heads out and look around the real physical world going on around you. Take even a 1% of interest in it that you do in these fantasy fictional programs where actors are paid to recite scripted lines. Yes, it is programming. They are programming you. But you call it “entertainment”. You are being socially programmed.

Okay…Holder: a fantastic actor! Im not upset about the ending of season one…But would like to have had more closure as to why she died rather than who killed her. All in all… I will wait for season two.

Good Episode but very dissappointed in the fact they havent solved who murdered rosie. This put me on the edge of not watching next season. When i calm down ill probable watch the start of the 2nd season but if who murdered rosie isnt solved fairly early into season 2 im done.

Stellar and speechless is all I have to say. I stumbled upon this about 4 episodes in and quickly caught up. I loved the twists and turns. At first glance Belko, Holder and the Councilman Richmond were of suspicion to me. Belko was a great unbalanced lunatic and Holder just did not sit right with me to fit in the unit. But I must admit I did overlook him as even being involved from the beginning because I was sure it was going to be Belko.

I am so glad there will be a season 2 to see how all of the pieces fit and to know that another story will unravel as the Larsen case wraps up.

I enjoyed this as a great Sunday past time and hope that they keep it around this time of year because it was a welcome to have something to look forward to on a hot spring/summer night. I am almost sad that its over. I glad that I rewatch the episodes.

Kudos AMC for another great serial, classic, who done it drama that kept me on the edge of my seat

I have not been this frustrated with a TV show since the ending of Lost! I feel like I’ve been watching the longest, most slowly paced, boring episode of Scooby Doo ever produced except those pesky kids never solved the murder. ZOINKS! I stuck with it just to see if they provided any resolution, though I never expected to get one. At this point, I don’t even think I care who killed Rosie Larson because this show killed my last 12 Sunday nights! I understand why some people enjoyed it and I had high hopes after a strong but I feel like it stalled out mid-season and never turned around. Just my opinion.

Considering the comparisons that have been made to Twin Peaks about this show, it surprises me that they would go this route, since what killed Twin Peaks was that the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer dragged into the second season. Hopefully, The Killing won’t go the ludicrous route Peaks did. (And I LOVED Peaks!)

Actually, what killed Twin Peaks was solving Laura Palmer’s death too EARLY. After they revealed the killer, no one had a reason to tune in anymore. So love or hate this finale, the ploy of ending on a cliffhanger is one of the only ways they’ll get the audience to return. Hopefully the new case they set up will be in full swing once Rosie’s is solved so that people will still be interested.

What I think really makes people tune in to a show though – aside from mystery – is the characters. Unfortunately I don’t think enough time was spent on these ones to get people to care much for them. Except the minor ones, like Rosie’s mom (Michelle Forbes, but she won’t be in it anymore once Rosie’s case is solved.

Just like the show “24”, you had us hooked to the end and now we have to wait for the next season but my wife and I really enjoyed the whole season. The segment with her lost kid could’ve been left out, but hey I’m not the writer! Keep up the good work, don’t wait too long for season 2.

Seems to me that the original 20 episode series gives the writers another 5-7 episodes to provide a few twists and turns, and to give us the lead in to the next “incident,” which will, of course, lead to Series 3. Seems like the original Series 1 & 2 are going to become THREE series here, due to the 13 episode format on U.S. TV.

As for the episode, my disappointment at NOT identifying the killer was only assuaged by the Holder twist and Jack “Balko” Ruby! When I saw Balko flipping out in the background (punching a boulder!?!) while Stan was beating Bennet to within an inch of his life, I thought he had a much larger role to play. When he showed up again in Ep. 13, I thought there was going to be a last minute twist BACK to the European “original” but the Balko twist was perhaps even more intriguing. Maybe he WAS just besotted?

Keep seeing the necklace in close-up next to Rosie’s face in the squad room. Wonder when THAT will become an issue? Thought Sarah might twig it while sitting on the plane, but we got the phone call from the Toll Booth Authority and all hell broke loose! EXCELLENT!

Looking forward to spending 43 minutes a week with the cast and writers in the Fall! All these “holier than thou” people on here making comments about wasting time need to reassess their lives. 43 minutes PER WEEK…..and well spent making you think. Seriously, get over yourselves and just let the show wash over you.

I have enjoyed the show and am not surprised that this story will continue into Season 2, but I do have two questions which may or may not be relevent. If Rosie was working as a high priced escort, why was she wearing sneakers? Also, did I miss something or didn’t Stan use their savings to buy a house?

I pegged that Richmond wasn’t the killer long before the episode ended. Truthfully, I thought the ending twist was going to be the reveal of Gwen as the killer but the arrest/assassination of Richmond. If Gwen is the killer, Holder was bought off by her dad in some devil’s bargin to help his kid or something. But the panic on Gwen’s face revealed her guilt to me.

As for Sud’s insistence that the show is the anti-formula show, PLEASE. The show would have been immensely better and far more unique without 13 red herrings.

People who say this was lazy writing obviously don’t understand what it means to write. Our society isn’t used to such great tv. Csi is one of the most watched shows in america. That explains everything. The writing and acting is out of this world. No show has the balls of the killing.

Have you heard about a show named “Braking Bad”? I’ve heard that there’s some very good writing in it.
Or “Justinfied”? This bad guy from “Live Free or Die Hard”, it seems that he can act and speak a few Elmore Leonard lines and there’s even a plot that progresses during the season.
There’s also “Mad Den”, the show about an advertising agency in the 60s. They’ve got this very original concept not to conclude every episode with a red herring that gets solved in the next one. How strange! I don’t know how they can make something interesting with no red herring.

But you’re right. I don’t know how another show could have the balls of The Killing. You know, it’s good stuff because it’s not CSI.

(It’s just people from Cold Case who are convinced they’re writing The Wire)

Excuse me, where do you get off? I was excited about this show precisely because I was hoping it would be the anti-CSI. This wasn’t well-thought-out writing, this was spitballing. Spastic, ADD-esque, amateur spitballing where they shot out a little clue wad here, a little character development wad there, but don’t expect the Mona Lisa when they’re done. Heck, don’t expect Jackson Pollock. I can watch a bold, slow, complex show with the best of them (hello Mad Men!), but I have no intention of continuing to watch a show that seemingly refuses to give its audience anything and presumes that’s what compelling storytelling is all about.

AMC and Veena Sud should be ashamed of themselves. You don’t change the end of a series you have been advertising to give the audience a solid answer to when you find that you’ve been given another season. Your audience looses confidence in you and you appear as liars. What you have done is not an option. There are many people who would not have begun watching this series at all had they known you would decide all of a sudden to change the ending just because you’ve been approved for another season. Why be so disrespectful to the people who played your games, watched your show, told others to watch your show and believed you were honest and would give an acceptable ending? The next season should be entitled “Who Killed AMC”. Unlike AMC, I will give you an answer now. The answer is the series “Who Killed Rosie Larsen” killed AMC.

Michael, you should have asked Ms. Sud if it was her intention for Sarah Linden to become the object of internet-wide derision and mockery for being the absolute worst written detective in the history of modern television.

Nowhere in the finale was that more evident than the scene when Sarah noticed the car Rosie was drowned in had more gas in the tank than the campaign had reported.

For most detectives, making such a discovery so late in the game would have been rather embarrassing, considering that both the gas tank and the campaign’s notes had been available to Linden since Day One.

But not for Sarah Linden, oh no. She grinned like the Cheshire Cat, seemingly proud of the fact that she had failed to notice that rather glaring contradiction. This led to interviews at gas stations and a search of the woods, both of which could have been done two weeks earlier if Linden had been doing her job.

As evident by the “How do you commit the perfect murder? Go to Seattle and make sure Sarah Linden is on the case” joke that has been all over Facebook and Twitter in the last week, Ms. Sud’s lead character is little more than a punchline.

I’d be curious to know if that was actually her intent, or just a complete and utter failure on her part.

Totally agree with Dave. This show has portrayed the detectives as bumbling losers. First, a big city police department would not assign just two detectives to a major media-interest case. Second, everything they finally did in the last six or seven shows are things that real detectives do on DAY ONE. And third, allowing them to break into that butcher shop and face no consequences for it was inexcusable.
The show “24” had great ratings and they wrapped up the story at the end of each season. All this writer had to do was wrap up this story in the finale, and simultaneously start a new one for next season. The viewers would come back, honest.
But seriously, get some new continuity and location experts. Most importantly, get some technical advisors who know police work. It makes your show nearly unwatchable when you have so many errors.

“24” had 24 episodes for a season. So if you’re making that comparison then you would owe The Killing another 11 episodes to wrap it up. “24” basically told the same story for 8 years running. That show could be entertaining, but the writing and acting was not that good.

Although I found the character of Linden intriguing psychologically, I have to agree with Dave that she’s a demonstrably horrible detective. A call girl in sneakers…. the gaffe re the gas tank . . . multiple private confrontations with a main suspect . . . no curiosity as to who else might have used that computer at the candidate’s place . . . repeated detours into her chaotic personal life . . . spreading sloppy theories that get innocent people beaten or killed . . . and on it goes. Logically, season 2 would not even include Linden, because she would no longer have a job!

There wasn’t a murder two weeks ago and, since the ferry/casino scenario wasn’t discovered until late in the game, not sure what they could have made of the gas tank/mileage details…

This show IS different from your common procedurals and if you can’t appreciate that, then stick with the typical wrap-it-up-with-a-bow-in-47-minutes-know-it-all-can’t-do-no-wrong-detective shows.

I did enjoy the ride and look forward to season 2 but I do have to keep reminding myself of the time-span involved.

However, for a show that is proud of its’ unusual tone and feel, they did resort to a typical cliffhanger in its’ finale. I would have been much more satisfied if they had concluded the Rosie storyline and introduced a different twist to the story … especially in light now of Veena’s comments that had this show not been renewed, we would be left with the same cliffhanger … that leaves a real bitter taste in my mouth.

Is this a real review? “Didn’t disappoint”??? Look, it had great premiere episodes. Then it suddenly got sloppy, unrealistic and utterly ridiculous for 8 weeks. Cool all-Linden&Holder 11th episode that unfortunately was way out of place (episode 6 would’ve been more like it), decent penultimate episode (as long as you looked the other way on some continued realism problems)…

And then the finale, quite possibly the worst episode of television ev…okay I’m taking it a bit far. But this WAS bad. So bad. Like, “Wow, I didn’t just waste 1 hour of my life, I totally wasted 13 hours” bad.

For the 10% of the audience sticking around for next year, I do sincerely hope for your sake that they get around to naming the killer before low ratings cause a premature cancellation. I’d hate for any human being to have to feel like they wasted more time than I did.

OMG What a way to end a series. For all you that are pissing and moaning and groaning about this you mad because it didn’t end the way you wanted to? I thought it was great especially with Holder and Linden getting that call on the plane. Mitch leaving…AWESOME I can’t wait for season two and those of you that are crabbing about this…don’t come back next season to watch!

I think the point is, y’know… we won’t. And then it will be cancelled. Veena Sud may think she’s a special snowflake who can completely disregard her audience, but I’m guessing that reality is going to catch up fairly quickly. My issues with this show go way beyond the crap that was the season finale, but I might have managed the issues had last night delivered. I’m sorry for those of you who enjoyed it as I imagine it’s frustrating to hear the entire internet mocking something you enjoy, but you are so far in the minority.

We won’t come back next season to watch. The Killing gets 2 million viewers a week. Aside from TVLine, every single other website comment board/discussion I’ve seen has had approximately 1 in 10 people who enjoyed the finale or at least didn’t hate it so much that they will quit watching. Let’s see … 10% of 2,000,000 = 200,000. Let’s assume another 10% are temporarily disgruntled and give the benefit of the doubt that they will tune in when the show comes back. That’s 400,000 viewers. Versus 2 million this season.

Things that make no sense (ok some of the things that make no sense);
If Holder was going to fake the photo, why tell Linen he can’t get the photo and make her call? Why not just fake the photo?
Speaking of the fake photo, how will that bring Richmond down? As soon as his legal team stepped in they’d discover that it was a fake. Not only would he not be convicted, it would never see a day in court AND he’d be made a victim in the press. Holder would be ruined, as would the entire police department.
Why bother with the wiretap of Ahmat, if he wants to frame Richmond? Or was he just trying to frame anyone?
Why didn’t Mr. Larsen tell his wife about the house? What was the big deal?
Richmond’s GF was smart, having her reveal he was not there but never questioning why he was wet, “like he was in the water” when the girl was found on the one night he was missing and was submerged in the staff car?
When did Richmond have time to bed all of these hookers? For 13 days he was always at the office, with his GF or alone at his apartment. If he wasn’t the killer, then why would he suddenly change his behavior?
We are to suddenly believe that not only was he repeatedly with prostitutes, but he had a series of affairs with women who resembled his dead wife, yet was perfectly willing to reveal the Mayor’s affair? Even more unbelievable, no one knew about these multiple affairs, except one person with the photos?

I had trouble watching all season but I kept coming back because it was well written and the acting was good and…., I kept reading the rave reviews! The trouble I had was that I knew that the killer would not be revealed until the last episode, and maybe not even then (as it turned out). It was obvious that the producers and AMC wanted to milk this thing for as long as they could. It’s like a soap-opera. Keep tuning in and keep seeing the same thing, over and over. The only thing that changed was each episode seemed to focus on a different suspect. Every major character, except for Linden, became a viable suspect, even the parents!! Enough is enough. I really don’t care any more. (Actually I stopped caring in mid-season, but I kept peeking in, hoping that things would start moving a little faster.)

Actually, in real life, the closest relatives are always the first suspects. I am very surprised that it was not dealt with properly in the series. And yes, a lot of things should have been done in the very first days after the murder. Like checking for the fingerprints in the car, checking the room key from Casino, etc etc.

I think Sud is wrong, There was definitely a reaction when the killer wasn’t revealed but it wasn’t excitement. The trick ending was a profound annoyance and my feeling is that the show can’t be taken seriously at all. It’s one thing to create a series that isn’t formulaic and quite another to jerk viewers around with half-backed subplots (terrorists, anyone?) that have nothing to do with the case and waste over half the season on the Ahmed red herring. It is entirely possible to be ‘non formulaic’ and do it exquisitely. I suggest Sud go watch all five seasons of “The Wire’ and go back to the drawing board.

I am no longer interested in who killed Rosie Larson. Maybe it was Holder.

I loved the finale but now I’m dying for Season 2. I love everything about this show. I do not watch any CSI or Law & Order shows because they are boring and predictable. Thanks for this interview Michael. Definitely in my Top 5 tv shows.

I wasn’t a fan of most of the season, and didn’t love the show, but I can say I kinda liked it, especially the last half. And despite the twist, the finale was enjoyable.

There are people who liked it, and there are people who didn’t, and they mostly comment rationally about what they liked or didn’t like about the show, but what’s up with some of the people who didn’t like the show obsessively commenting on The Killing articles on different sites, often using the exact same angry words? If you didn’t like it that much, just stay away from the articles, because reading them will just work you up even more.
No offence to any person who didn’t like it who comment rationally though.

Good god, what a terrible, terrible, terrible hour of television. I have never felt so tremendously angry over an episode of a program. Not even “Stranger in a Strange Land” made me this angry at the time.